Topic
This article discusses how to use the Knowledge Base feature in NinjaOne Documentation.
Environment
NinjaOne Documentation
Description
This article is a guide for using the Knowledge Base tab on the system and organization dashboards. The Knowledge Base feature lets you create a wiki, or database, of all the necessary documents for an organization or global use.
Want to learn more about NinjaOne Documentation? Check out our video library.
Select a category to learn more:
- Technician Permissions
- Global Knowledge Base
- Organizational Knowledge Base
- Use Microsoft Word with NinjaOne's Knowledge Base
- Add Documents to the Knowledge Base
- Version History
- Download, Edit, Share, Move, or Archive Documents
- Delete Documents and Folders
- Add a Document to Favorites
- Additional Resources
Technician Permissions
Technicians must have the appropriate permission to access the Knowledge Base. You can manage these permissions in the technician account or role editor under Documentation. Be sure to flip the Enabled toggle switch so you can select options from the drop-down menus.
Figure 1: Technician permissions
The following permissions affect the Knowledge Base:
- Global Knowledge Base Documentation access
- Knowledge Base public links Documentation access
- Organization Documentation access
- Sharing Global Knowledge Base folders with end users
- Restrict Knowledge Base folder access
- Documentation export access
Global Knowledge Base
Navigation
You can navigate the Global Knowledge base from the Knowledge Base tab on the System Dashboard. Refer to the table under Figure 2 for a brief explanation of each highlighted feature.
Figure 2: The Knowledge Base Dashboard (click to enlarge)
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Search for any document, even if it's within a folder. This will pull data from both the title and content of the document. |
| 2 | Filter your search by folder or document type. |
| 3 | Create a new folder or document, or upload a document. |
| 4 | Click to refresh the table. |
| 5 | Click to modify table settings (sort by, sort direction, column display). |
| 6 | Click to open the folder and view a list of documents within it. |
| 7 | View the time and date the folder or document was created/uploaded. |
| 8 | Click a document name to open the document contents in a separate browser tab. |
| 9 | If a number is present, public links have been created and are available for sharing. Click the link icon to view the link(s) and their expiration dates, create new links, delete or edit existing links, or copy the links to share. |
When a document has been created or uploaded to the Knowledge Base, an icon displays on the left side of its filename to indicate the document type. If you created a document from within the Knowledge Base, the icon looks like a blank sheet of paper. The screenshot below shows examples of a Word document, Portable Document Format (PDF), PowerPoint and Excel document.
Figure 3: Document types (click to enlarge)
Organizational Knowledge Base
The Knowledge Base feature under Documentation lets you create a wiki of all the necessary documents you have for an organization or globally. The wiki contains files and folders which can either be documents in NinjaOne proprietary format, or Microsoft documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
Figure 4: The Documentation tab (click to enlarge)
Use Microsoft Word with NinjaOne's Knowledge Base
NinjaOne's integration with Microsoft Word for Knowledge Base documentation lets technicians with the appropriate permissions edit Word documents within NinjaOne.
Word documents can be easily identified by the W paper icon to the left of the document title. If someone has the document open in edit mode, the label "Updating" will display to the right of the document title and you will see a monogram on the document itself to indicate the presence of the other user.
Figure 5: Document selection (click to enlarge)
Clicking the title opens a copy of the document and its related items in a new page. Refer to the table below to learn more about the various options presented on the page.
Figure 5: KB options (click to enlarge)
| Number | Description | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Version History | Version History shows the date and time of all revisions made to the document, and the name of the technician who made the changes. If you delete a log from the Version history, this does not undo the revision but it restricts technicians from restoring the previous version. When you click on a log in the Version history modal, you will see the previous version of the document and have an option to restore it; the Version history button changes to Restore version. |
| 2 | Edit button | Modify the document in Microsoft Word Web mode. |
| 3 | Related Items | Add a related item. |
| 4 | Expand icon | Enlarge the document to the size of the screen. |
| 5 | Share icon | View shared links or create new. |
| 6 | Gear icon | Settings let you update the accessibility preferences. |
| 7 | Ellipsis | Click to see more menu options for documentation management (expanded in the screenshot below). |
Add Documents to the Knowledge Base
You can use this section to add documents and folders to either the global or organization knowledge base.
Add a Folder
Folders will appear grouped at the top of a list, followed by documents organized alphabetically.
- From Dashboard → Knowledge Base, click Add and select New Folder.
Figure 6: New folder selection (click to enlarge)
- Enter a name for the folder and then click Create.
Figure 7: New folder creation (click to enlarge)
Add a Document Outside a Folder
- From Dashboard → Knowledge Base, click Add and select New Document or Upload Document.
Figure 8: New document outside a folder (click to enlarge)
- If you selected Upload Document, the File Explorer will appear. select the document from your computer to complete the process.
- If you selected New Document, the document editor displays. Name the document and enter the content of the document into the provided WYSIWYG editor. The toolbar at the top of the body field provides the available tools to customize your document.
Figure 8: The document editor(click to enlarge)
- Click Save Changes at the top of the screen to complete the process and add the document to your Knowledge Base library.
Add a Document Within a Folder
- From Dashboard → Knowledge Base, click the name of a folder to open it.
- Click the plus sign + icon and click New Document or Upload Document.
Figure 9: Adding documents (click to enlarge)
- If you selected Upload Document, the File Explorer window displays; select the ocument from your computer to complete the process.
- If you selected New Document, the document editor displays; provide a name for the document and enter the content of the document into the provided WYSIWYG editor. The toolbar at the top of the body field provides the available tools to customize your document.
- Click Save Changes at the top of the screen to complete the process and add the document to your Knowledge Base library.
Version History
After a document has been added to the Knowledge Base and saved, a Version History button appears when the document is opened. Version history provides the date and time of all revisions made to the document, and the name of the technician who made the changes.
Figure 10: The Version History button (click to enlarge)
Revision logs
If you delete a log from the version history, this does not undo the revision, but it restricts technicians from restoring that version. When you click on a log in the Version history modal, you will see the previous version of the document and have an option to restore it; the Version history button changes to Restore version.
Related Items
Documents in the Knowledge Base, show a Related Items section on the right-hand side of the page. Refer to Device Notes & Related Items for more information.
Download, Edit, Share, Move, or Archive Documents
Download or Edit a Document
- You cannot download documents that were created in NinjaOne.
- You cannot edit PDFs that were uploaded from a computer.
To the far right of an uploaded document name, click the ellipsis icon and select the applicable option.
Figure 11: Document actions (click to enlarge)
- Download: The file becomes available in your Downloads folder within File Explorer. This option is only available for files that were uploaded to the Knowledge Base.
- Edit: For folders, update the Name field with the changes and then click Save. For documents, make any changes to the title or contents of the document and then click Save Changes. If you are editing an uploaded document, such as a Word file, then changes will be saved automatically from the new tab.
- Share: Lets system administrators and technicians with the appropriate "Global Knowledge Base Documentation Access" permissions to create a public link for specific documents and share folders with end users.
Public links allow documents to be accessed outside of NinjaOne with the branding that was configured for custom application logos. System administrators and technicians can control how long this public link is accessible and track what IP addresses have used the link. To learn more about sharing documents, read NinjaOne Documentation Tool: Public and Shared Links. Move or Delete a Document - Move: lets administrators and technicians with the appropriate "Global Knowledge Base Documentation Access" permissions to move folders or files to a different organization or within a different folder in the Global Knowledge Base.
- Archive: Hide the item from the main list and disable sharing options. Once the item is archived, you can either delete it permanently or restore it. Deleting a folder also deletes all files saved within. To see these options, change the Archived filter to "Visible" and then check the box.
Figure 12: Archive options (click to enlarge)
- Delete: To delete a document, you must first archive it. To the far right of a folder or document name, click the ellipsis icon to see the options. Alternatively, use the checkboxes to select multiple folders/documents and then click Move or Archive at the top of the KB table.
Add a Document to Favorites
Click the document to open it, then click the star next to the document title.
Figure 13: Adding a document to Favorites (click to enlarge)
The star turns yellow, and the document appears under the Favorites drop-down menu on the left-hand navigation pane. You can remove it by deselecting the star in the article or by hovering over the article title in the Favorites bar.